Inside Elite Rock Climber Alex Honnold’s Vegetarian Diet

In 2011, Alex Honnold drew the attention of millions when 60 Minutes featured him free-soloing—that is to say, climbing a sheer mountain face with no ropes, gear, or other form of equipment—up the 2,000-foot Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. He remains as daring as ever five years later, which is particularly impressive because he’s doing it on a vegetarian diet.

As Honnold notes, upon learning about his diet, “People are like, ‘Oh my God, how do you get your protein?” Besides pointing out much of the world already exists on something approaching a vegetarian diet—if you’re poor, you’ll probably have limited access to meat because you can’t afford it—Honnold also outlines some of the meals he prepares. For instance, he might start the day with muesli, flax meal, raspberries, and almond milk, which seems to do the trick since Honnold spends the day doing physically impossible feats.

Watch the full video below, which also captures his obsession with climbing. (Honnold generally lives in a van, because it’s the easiest way to spend time at the exotic, isolated mountains he climbs.) At the bottom, watch the 60 Minutes story on Honnold.